Shot fired in melee near DeKalb Travel Inn

Jillian Duchnowski - jduchnowski@shawmedia.com
Police and firefighters have cordoned off area around Travel Inn at 1116 W. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb. Police said at least one shot was fired during a fight between several people Friday in a parking lot between the hotel and Precision Car Wash next door.

DeKALB – Two people were injured and a shot was fired without striking anyone in a fight Friday afternoon in the Travel Inn parking lot, DeKalb police said.

Two groups of five or six people each had a fight about 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot at 1116 W. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb Police Commander John Petragallo said. During the fight, one person was hit in the head with a gun and another suffered a hand injury; paramedics did not need to take either to the emergency room.

“As one of the groups fled the scene, a round was fired from the gun,” Petragallo said.

Police detained a man who was part of the group that was fleeing, Petragallo said. They took about 10 witnesses to the police station for interviewing and cordoned off the Travel Inn parking lot and the adjacent Precision Car Wash, 1120 W. Lincoln Highway.

Police from Northern Illinois University, Sycamore and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office responded, as well as DeKalb paramedics. Emergency vehicles were parked in Lincoln Highway’s center-turn lane west of Annie Glidden Road for about two hours. DeKalb police’s investigation continued Friday evening.

Police do not believe the incident was related to the alleged methamphetamine lab found Sunday in a Travel Inn room, Petragallo said.

DeKalb police arrested three DeKalb people in connection with that operation. Thomas M. Wilkinson, 29, was charged with cooking and distributing methamphetamine. His wife, Malgorzata Dutkowska, 24, allegedly bought over-the-counter medication for Wilkinson and drove him to buy other materials in the past. Jeffrey R. Podjaski, 25, allegedly bought over-the-counter medication for Wilkinson on Oct. 26 in exchange for some of the methamphetamine produced that day.